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Provo • Is Saturday's showdown with No. 10-ranked UCLA the most important game for No. 19 BYU since the Cougars went independent in 2011?
Coach Bronco Mendenhall says no.
But several of his players seem to think so.
Both teams roll into the encounter at the historic Rose Bowl with 2-0 records and sizzling hot freshman quarterbacks — BYU's Tanner Mangum and UCLA's Josh Rosen — but took entirely different routes to stay undefeated the first two weeks of the college football season.
UCLA cruised past Virginia and UNLV with Rosen living up to all his preseason hype, while BYU needed well-documented last-second heroics from Mangum to down Nebraska and Boise State.
"I think we could make it as big, or not as big, as possible," Mendenhall said Monday in his weekly news briefing. "I think everyone knows my stance. I try to coach our team hard every single game. Our players try to play hard every single game. Yeah, it is fun if other teams are ranked, and it is fun if both teams are good. But to make more of it than that, gosh, that would just be a distraction. And there are already enough distractions, so I just plan on coaching my team."
One of those distractions involves BYU offensive lineman Ului Lapuaho and his below-the-belt punch at Boise State's Chanceller Davis in Saturday's 35-24 win over the Broncos that was caught by ESPN2 cameras and has been replayed thousands, if not millions, of times on highlight shows and social media outlets.
Mendenhall said undisclosed "team discipline" has been issued, but Lapuaho will not miss any games after being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in the dead-ball situation. Linebacker Sione Takitaki has received the same discipline for a roughing-the-passer penalty on BSU QB Ryan Finley that led to a Broncos touchdown.
Late Monday, BYU announced that it had received notification from its contracted officiating organization, College Football Officiating West regarding the foul called on Lapuaho, and that no suspension was being levied by that organization.
"CFO West has advised the athletic department and the student-athlete of appropriate disciplinary action. Details of communications regarding student-athletes are generally not made public unless an announcement is warranted (e.g., disqualification, suspension, public reprimand)."
Mendenhall downplayed how BSU's Davis could have been penalized for jumping on the prone Lapuaho after the sophomore lineman had recovered Mangum's fumble, calling that a nonissue.
"I think [Lapuaho] just reacted and wasn't composed," Mendenhall said, noting how BYU was penalized 23 times in its first two games last year, as opposed to nine times this year. "So our team is playing a lot cleaner football. So rather than the 180-something yards in penalties, it is [84], and so I have actually been really pleased with the lack of extra things that are happening."
Regarding the Bruins, Mendenhall said "it is another great challenge for us" and the caliber of opponent BYU wants to play every week.
"I am sure what our players, or I, will hear is this is the biggest game of independence, or the biggest game of the season, but Nebraska was pretty big," Mendenhall said. "And Boise is pretty big. And UCLA now is pretty big. My guess is Michigan after that will be pretty big. So we will just keep playing, and that's all I am telling my team. To think about it any more than that is a distraction, and the more we think about something else besides our assignments, and getting ready for our opponent, the more of a mistake it will be. And that's been my message to them."
His coach's sentiments notwithstanding, BYU senior receiver Mitch Mathews said it will be the biggest game of his career, to date.
"I would say yeah," said Mathews, who caught the Hail Mary from Mangum to beat Nebraska. "Ranked team vs. ranked team. They are a very good team. At their place. This will probably be the biggest game I have played in, or one of the most important that I have been a part of."
Mathews said the Cougars realize they could easily be 0-2, so there is an emphasis this week on playing well for four quarters and not just the fourth.
"Every game really is important, but the focus and intensity at practice this week needs to be at its highest level. That's probably how I would say it," he said after being told Mendenhall was not putting it above any other game. "Every game is just as important as any other because we can't afford to lose, as an independent. But this game, the focus and intensity at practice will have to be at its all-time best to beat these guys."
Twitter: @drewjay —
No. 19 BYU at No. 10 UCLA
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